Savannah’s city manager sent proposed pay increases for new hires and for current officers to the City Council and the Mayor.

The increase is projected to cost $820,000 from now until the end of the year, based on projected staffing levels. That does not include any new recruits or hires.

Right now, the force is understaffed by almost 75 officers.

The proposed pay would raise recruit or trainee salaries by a few thousand dollars.

“I think it makes us competitive,” said SCMPD Chief Jack Lumpkin. “It’s not the highest salary in Georgia, but we did not expect the highest salary in Georgia. We want to be competitive with similar communities, and if you factor all of that out then when we’re hiring for the future the college graduate will have a salary that’s similar to other communities of our size.”

The City Manager also said that a take home car policy for all officers who have completed training may cost as much as $2 million from capital budgets.